Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on Thursday denied a report that Poland will be affected by a US Defense Department decision to halt the deployment of more than 4,000 soldiers from a combat brigade to Europe.
“The number of US troops in Poland will not be reduced,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said in Warsaw. Poland was instead working on boosting the US military presence in the country, he added.
He noted that the withdrawal of around 5,000 US forces from Germany, as previously announced by President Donald Trump, would mean the reorganization of US forces in Europe and that this could lead to brigades being sent to individual countries.
This could explain the confusion generated by US media reports, Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Polish Defence Ministry Secretary of State Cezary Tomczyk also denied the reports. “That’s not true. This message concerns Germany. It does not concern Poland. Poland is consistently seeking to increase the presence of U.S. troops,” Tomczyk posted on X.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported, citing a Pentagon official, that the US Defense Department had halted the deployment of a combat brigade to Europe.
The decision had been communicated on Wednesday during a meeting involving the US military’s European Command (EUCOM) and parts of the US Army, the newspaper reported. The original plan was for the troops to be on a nine-month rotation in Poland.
The US Army said in March that the brigade would replace other forces as part of a routine rotation. According to the Wall Street Journal, some equipment and personnel were already en route, leaving some Army officials caught off guard by the decision.
Defence news platform Task and Purpose reported that the troops had been expected to work mainly with partner forces in Poland as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a US mission launched in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea to support NATO allies in Europe.
The reports caused disquiet in Warsaw, which sees EU and NATO member Poland as one of the closest allies of the United States and of Ukraine.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said that he and the chief of the Polish defence staff had immediately contacted US General Alexus Grynkewich, the head of EUCOM, to clear up the matter. Poland’s military attaché in Washington had also contacted the Pentagon, he said.
The reports come around two weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 US troops from Germany. Poland subsequently reiterated its willingness to host more US forces.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said nearly 10,000 US troops are currently stationed in Poland, with most rotating regularly among US military bases across Europe.